[nagdu] TEAM MATES MENTORING

Fri Dec 4 17:58:25 UTC 2009

Excellent, Julie!

I have also volunteered for one thing or another sinse my high school days. 
I volunteer for our local Humane Society in their Pet-Assisted Therapy 
program. I am their first disabled/service dog team to participate in the 
program.  Everyone loves Landon and Landon loves the rabbits, guinea pigs, 
and rats we bring with us on our visits to nursing homes and such.

I also volunteer with the Armed Services Y for the Paws That Heal program 
where we work with wounded warriors with depression or PTSD.  When I was a 
teen, I was a "candy striper" at a nursing home near my school.

Volunteering in our communities shows people that the blind and the disabled 
are "givers" and not just "takers".  that we matter and can give back to 
society as well.

Linda and Landon
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Julie J" <julielj at windstream.net>
To: "NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users" 
<nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Friday, December 04, 2009 4:24 AM
Subject: Re: [nagdu] TEAM MATES MENTORING

> Thanks Marion!  It's been a really great experience.  There's the obvious 
> mentoring opportunity with the young lady, but I think also in a different 
> way I mentor everyone in that building.   It's been good for me too, 
> meeting and talking to new people.
>
> If there is anyone considering trying mentoring or who has questions about 
> it, I'd be happy to talk to you.   I think teamMates is only available in 
> Iowa and Nebraska, but I'm sure you could find something similar in your 
> local area.
>
> Julie
>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Marion & Martin" <swampfox1833 at verizon.net>
> To: "NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users" 
> <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Thursday, December 03, 2009 11:16 PM
> Subject: Re: [nagdu] TEAM MATES MENTORING
>
>
>> Julie,
>>    All too often, blind people are seen as those in need of "carity" or 
>> volunteers. It's great to get out and show that we are volunteers, as 
>> well! Last January, when President Obama declared Martin Luther King, Jr. 
>> Day a National Day of Service, the NFB across the country took this 
>> opportunity to demonstrate this very thing! It was an awesome experience! 
>> Most of you on this list are volunteers with NAGDU! We greatly appreciate 
>> your willingness to be of service!
>>
>> Fraternally yours,
>> Marion
>>
>>
>> ----- Original Message ----- 
>> From: "Susan Jones" <sblanjones11 at sbcglobal.net>
>> To: "'NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users'" 
>> <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
>> Sent: Thursday, December 03, 2009 6:47 PM
>> Subject: [nagdu] TEAM MATES MENTORING
>>
>>
>>> Julie, WAY TO GO!
>>> Keep up the good work.
>>> Susan & Rhoda
>>>
>>>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On 
>>> Behalf
>>> Of Julie J
>>> Sent: Monday, November 30, 2009 4:39 PM
>>> To: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users
>>> Subject: [nagdu] news article
>>>
>>> Here's the  text of that article I mentioned earlier.
>>> ***
>>> TeamMates mentors help kids
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>      News-Times/Kate Burke - Tanner Staehr (left) benefits from Tony 
>>> Howe's
>>> mentoring in the York Middle School TeamMates program.
>>>      see all of our photo galleries
>>>
>>> By Kate Burke
>>> STAFF WRITER
>>> Published: Sunday, November 29, 2009 11:11 PM CST YORK - Tony Howe would
>>> like, for once, to be proactive.
>>>
>>> For 13 years, Tony has been a police officer, the last six in Lincoln. 
>>> "A
>>> lot of the kids I see in my work, it's just not good," he says. "I 
>>> thought
>>> I'd try this."
>>>
>>> Tony, a York High School graduate and resident of York, became a mentor 
>>> in
>>> the TeamMates mentoring program. He meets with seventh grader Tanner 
>>> Staehr
>>> an hour a week at York Middle School.
>>>
>>> "I just want to help Tanner, just be that extra person for him to come 
>>> and
>>> talk to," Tony says. "Not that I have all the answers, but sometimes 
>>> it's
>>> important to hear it from somebody who's not mom or dad or the teacher."
>>>
>>> Tanner is intelligent and energetic. He urges Tony out to the foosball 
>>> table
>>> in the school atrium. Rods spin, the ball flies, and within seconds, 
>>> Tanner
>>> scores.
>>>
>>> Now the game is on.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> "He's a really good guy," YMS counselor Dave Ciccone says of Tony. "He's 
>>> the
>>> perfect mentor because he cares about kids. That's the main 
>>> requirement."
>>>
>>> Julie Johnson had a similar reason for becoming a TeamMates mentor. As 
>>> the
>>> Juvenile Diversion Coordinator for York County, Julie too often sees 
>>> kids
>>> after they've had that "oops moment."
>>>
>>> She works with non-violent offenders, mostly with minor-in-possession,
>>> criminal mischief, vandalism or shoplifting charges, trying to prevent 
>>> them
>>> from messing up again.
>>>
>>> With YMS seventh grader Paige Homan, she has a chance to prevent that
>>> initial "oops moment" ever happening.
>>>
>>> "I want to be a positive influence on her life," Julie says.
>>>
>>> A TeamMates mentor commits to an hour a week for one school year. 
>>> Students
>>> are recommended to Dave by teachers, and he matches them up with a 
>>> mentor.
>>>
>>> "I figured it was gonna be some homework thing," Paige says.
>>>
>>> She found out differently when she met Julie and her guide dog, Monty.
>>>
>>> "When [Dave Ciccone] said there would be a friend along, I thought, 
>>> Huh,"
>>> Paige remembers. "When I saw the dog, I was really shocked."
>>>
>>> Homework may be part of the mentoring, if that is what the students 
>>> want.
>>> Otherwise, the TeamMates mentors are there just to be a steady support, 
>>> and
>>> a friend. They are fairly free to decide how they will spend their time
>>> together.
>>>
>>> Paige and Julie laugh about a recent attempt to fly a kite in 30 mph 
>>> winds.
>>> Sometimes they play card games, and most often, they just talk.
>>>
>>> "It's very much Paige-directed," Julie says with a smile.
>>>
>>> Both Julie and Tony are new mentors this year. For both, it was just 
>>> time to
>>> step into a kid's life to work some good, instead of trying to undo 
>>> trouble.
>>>
>>> Tony has three young children of his own, and he had them in mind, too, 
>>> when
>>> he signed up for TeamMates.
>>>
>>> "I just wanted to show my kids that it's important to volunteer, to give
>>> back."
>>>
>>> For more information on the TeamMates mentoring program, or to 
>>> volunteer,
>>> contact Dave Ciccone at York Middle School, 402-362-6655, option 1, or 
>>> visit
>>> the TeamMates Web site at www.teammates.org.
>>>
>>>
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>>
>>
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>
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